Sixty residents from Ndeiya division in Limuru district in Kiambu county have moved to court to sue the State for failing to compensate them of their land which was used to build a road. The residents have also asked filed for an injunction to stop the construction of Limuru-Gikambura-Kikuyu Road until they are compensated.

The residents have sued the ministry of Lands, Commissioner of Lands, Kenya Rural Roads Board and the contractor. The residents said that a company known as Kudhan Signh Construction Company which had earlier been contracted to construct the now stalled road trespassed their land promising them that they would be compensated.

In a demand letter issued through their lawyer Jeremy M. Njenga, the residents who most of whom are farmers in Ndeiya said that the company which had authority from the government, uprooted trees, food crops, hedges and demolished structures and buildings that fell along the path of road expansion. The statement read, “in about year 2009, in what was presumed to be a compulsory acquisition of part of this people’s property by the government, the construction firm trespassed the parcels of the land clearing and excavating part of the land for purpose of road construction.”

The farmers further said that in the wake of the destruction, the government promised to compensate them, a move that it has not been done to date. They said that they have been visiting offices including Lands Office, Kenya Rural Authority and Kenya Roads Board in an attempt to follow up the payments but they have been hitting a snag. “But in these endless and verbal promises, the farmers are now frustrated by the bureaucracy, confusion and non-commitment from the government and now resulted to legal action to protect their constitutional rights,” read the statement.

Speaking to the Star in his office, the lawyer Njenga said that the residents have no objections on the construction of the road which started two months ago after the area MP Peter Mwathi requested for more funds from the government to finish after the said company disappeared. “But they are threaten to issue an injunction to stop the ongoing construction that was flagged off by Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta a week ago if their grievances are not honored,” said Njenga.

Njenga said that there is no ground of compensation even as another company, Victory construction Limited Company Limited is now on site. He said the farmers have toiled to purchase the land and they will not relent until they are paid. “They allowed the company to enter into their land and destroy the property with and agreement that they would be compensated,” said Njenga.

He said, “the number of these people is increasing by day because of the discrimination that ha been seen. Some people from Mutarakwa village and Kikuyu have been compensated but the Ndeiya division people have not seen even a single penny since 2009.” End…. PhotoNjenga Gicheha